The subject matter herein relates generally to battery connector systems.
Batteries, such as those for electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles, typically include a plurality of cells grouped together as battery modules. The modules are connected together to form battery packs. Each of the cells include positive and negative tabs that are electrically connected together. Typically, busbars are welded to the cell tabs for sensing the voltage of the cells. A central or de-central battery management system is connected to the busbars for sensing and managing the battery cells.
Problems exist with connections between the busbars and other components of the battery management system. For example, typically the systems have many parts and have a complex arrangement of the parts. Some systems have central management while other systems have de-centralized management and the components of the central management system and the de-centralized management system are not interchangeable. In current systems having a central or de-central management system, a sensing circuit is required for each busbar. Each sensing circuit may be protected by a fuse.
The fusing presents many challenges including difficulty servicing the fuse, difficulty resetting the fuse, a complex arrangement with many parts and integrating other components such as a thermistor.